Final Fantasy : Historical Bonds
Chapter 4 - Hook, Line and Sinker
By: Fat Zombie
Blissful wishes, floating in the clouds,
I see ambition killing us I've found,
Justified decisions knocking me down,
Can't stop this piston, flooded engine.
Taken from [minus] - Hesitant And Polite
Members of the Dollet Police Department watched from the blockades set up around the bridge that led to the antenna as the Ragnarok pitched upward, over the cliff side. It soared overhead and circled around the back of the antenna before slowing to a hover over the top platform of the huge radio mast. A short moment later, the cargo bay door opened and Zell appeared at the edge. Several bystanders let out shocked gasps when he dropped off the edge, only to be held in mid-air by a repel line. He quickly dropped the rest of the way down to the Antenna mast and unbuckled himself from the harness. He tracked the platform's length cautiously, looking for any dangers.
"How's it lookin' Zell" he heard Nida say through his earpiece.
"Peachy" Zell replied.
With this said the rest of the team jumped out of the cargo bay and joined Zell on the platform. Nida felt as though the weight of the world had been lifted off of his shoulders as he got confirmation that everyone was safely off the ship.
The whole team moved over to the elevator shaft. Squall looked down the exposed shaft into the depths of the antenna. Small wavering flames could be seen at the bottom as well as the remains of what was once the service elevator. "Damn" he said in frustration. "Okay. Zell, Selphie, Irvine, get those lines ready so we can get down there".
The three SeeDs went to work preparing an entry route for the other half of the team. They quickly scouted about for something sturdy enough to secure the lines to. With all the steel framework around, it didn't take them long.
"So it's just us" said Seifer from behind Squall. "Nice… Cozy".
"You two are sure you wanna go through with this" asked Squall. "I don't wanna go down there with anyone who's gonna freak out on me".
"Are you kidding?" asked Seifer rhetorically. "Why would I let you take all the glory".
"Because I'm your commanding officer" said Squall. "You'll let me take all the glory if I tell you to" he added with a smile, reminding Seifer of the fact that he was still a cadet. Seifer smirked at Squall, and looked away over the town. Squall looked to Quistis for confirmation. She simply nodded.
"Hey" called Selphie.
"It's all ready here" Irvine finished for her.
Squall, Quistis and Seifer walked over and buckled themselves into the harnesses. Irvine, Selphie and Zell checked all the fastenings to make sure all was in order, and gave them the thumbs up. With all the checks completed, Squall and the other two SeeDs jumped into the elevator shaft and slowly began to lower themselves downward. At times it got frustrating for the three, as jagged pieces of metal protruded from various parts of the shaft. It was now obvious that the elevator had been destroyed at the top of the antenna and fallen all the way to the bottom, severely damaging the shaft as it did. Several minutes later they reached the bottom, just about finding a large enough patch of rubble to land on without being set on fire in the process. They unbuckled the repel lines stepped away from the wreckage of the elevator, taking in their surroundings. Despite the flaming wreck in the center of the room, nothing had changed since Squall and Seifer had last been here on their field exam.
"Keep those lines ready" said Squall into the small, barely noticeable mouthpiece attached to his collar.
"Even mine, Chicken-Wuss" added Seifer.
"You're treadin' a thin line pal" Seifer heard Zell reply through his earpiece. He smiled contentedly.
The group headed towards a door at the back of the room. They stood in front of it, staring at the handle. Slowly the group fanned out either side of the door, their backs flat to the wall. Seifer slowly reached for the handle, turning it gently. Eventually it gave a telltale click, and he pushed it open. Squall quickly glanced around the corner. "Let's go" he added.
They walked down the steps that led from the door to the basement. Once at the bottom, they were confronted with a long corridor. There were two doors on each side. Each SeeD checked a room each, finding nothing. All three converged upon the only unopened door.
"Quistis you open" Squall whispered. "We'll enter".
Squall counted to three with his fingers. As he rose his third finger Quistis opened the door and Seifer burst into the room, followed by Squall. Both stopped dead in their tracks soon afterwards. They looked around in wide-eyed astonishment. Quistis entered a few seconds later. "Oh my gods" was all she could manage. It was more than the other two could. This was more than even Seifer had ever seen.
The power in the room had been cut. It was dark, but there was enough light making it's way through the door from the hall to show what had happened prior to their arrival. Bodies lay around the room, piles of them trailing into the darkness. Blood flowed from bullet holes and exit wounds, and stained the concrete floor and walls. Men, women and even children lay among the dead.
"Holy shit" Seifer finally muttered.
Suddenly the room was eluminated with short, sharp bursts of light and the sound gunfire cut through the air. All three SeeDs leapt for cover, trying to avoid the bullets that were ricocheting around the room. Squall looked to the rest of the team. "GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE" he shouted. The whole team crawled quickly through the doorway then stood and ran for the staircase. They were forced to take cover behind a steel crate as the terrorists ran out of the room and continued firing.
"There's a lot of them" shouted Quistis over the gunfire.
"Ya think?" Seifer shouted back sarcastically. He looked to Squall, who did nothing but nod towards him. Quistis looked between the two confusedly.
In a lightning quick motion both Squall and Seifer popped out from behind the crate and returned fire, rapidly discharging slugs from their Gunblades. Several of the terrorists dropped to the ground before the two ducked back behind the crate.
"Five less" stated Seifer while loading a fresh clip into his Gunblade.
"Six" Squall said while doing the same.
"Who's counting" said Seifer, frowning.
Quistis looked at both men. While Squall seemed to be in deep thought, Seifer was smiling back at her. "You're actually enjoying this aren't you?" she asked.
"What. You're not?" Seifer returned the question, still smiling.
"Okay" interrupted Squall. "We make a break for the stairs on my mark… NOW".
All three SeeDs stood up, and while Squall and Quistis both dashed for the staircase Seifer turned and pointed his Gunblade at one of the terrorists. He fired a single shot, instantly dropping his intended target. "Six" he stated smugly, before turning and sprinting after the others. He quickly caught them up, just as a bullet tore it's way through a trailing part of his long coat and sped past him. "RUN GODDAMIT" he shouted.
The three quickly made their way up the stairs, while bullets bounced off the walls next to them. They reached the main hall only to be confronted by more terrorists armed with machine guns, lining the walls of the tower. This time the three made no attempt hide. They simply sprinted towards the elevator shaft and the repel lines.
"Start hauling those things up now" Squall shouted into his mouthpiece.
The gunfire could be heard at the opposite end of the shaft, where Zell, Irvine and Selphie had just started the winch system that would pull the repel lines back up through the shaft.
Back down at the bottom the other half of the team had somehow made it to the lines without one injury. They all jumped in unison for the lines, grabbing on as they retreated upwards. The three disappeared out of the terrorist's sights as they were hauled up the shaft. The terrorists soon came into view beneath Squall and the others, and once again began to fire. Quistis tried to shield her head as best she could from the bullets flying around the shaft.
On the platform on top of the antenna, Irvine was reaching into his coat. He pulled out three small grenades, and held them all between his left arm and his stomach. He hooked one finger from his right hand through each of the grenade's pins. He looked up to see Zell and Selphie staring at him in astonishment. "You'd be amazed what you can pick up from seedy stores in Galbadia" he said, smiling. He cautiously leaned his head over to look down into the shaft. "HEADS UP" he shouted, before pulling all three pins simultaneously and letting the grenades fall from his grip and down into the shaft.
Squall, Seifer and Quistis all looked up, then swung themselves towards the walls of the shaft as the grenades fell past them. The soldiers at the bottom scattered as they landed, and exploded a second later. The three SeeDs attached to the lines shielded themselves from the blast as well as they could, and by the time they looked back down towards the bottom of the shaft the firing had stopped. Each breathed a sigh of relief. They looked up towards the top of the shaft and saw three heads peeking over the edge, silhouetted against the sky.
"Smooth" Seifer called up to them. Irvine tipped has hat.
An animalistic shriek suddenly emanated from the bottom of the shaft. A sole surviving terrorist stood at the bottom, pointing his weapon upwards.
"Shit" shouted Seifer as he tried to unhook his Gunblade from his belt.
The terrorist began firing wildly, bouncing bullets off the walls of the shaft. As Squall watched the gunman Quistis suddenly released scream. Squall looked up to see her release her grip on the line and begin to fall. He swung into her path and caught her by the hand before she dropped past.
Seifer finally managed to release the clip on his belt and aimed the weapon at the terrorist. He repeatedly pulled the trigger, riddling the attackers body with rounds. He continued to fire until the clip was empty. The terrorist was dead before his body even hit the ground. He looked to Squall and saw him hanging onto an unconscious Quistis. A red stain and a hole in her dress marked the gunshot wound on her back.
Author's Note: - There, shocking huh? Maybe for some and maybe not, but either way it's something that seldom happens to any of the six main characters from FF8 (Even if it does, it normally happens to Selphie). Is Quistis dead? Is Squall gonna be able to hang onto her instead of dropping her back to the bottom? Is this fic gonna have some kind of point to it? Some of these questions might be answered very soon. Oh, and whether you like her or not, Rinoa will be in the next chapter.
C ya…